Sabah rep: They are ‘dirty spin’

KOTA KINABALU: Assistant Trade and Industry Minister Ben Chong Chen Bin, who is from Parti Warisan Sabah, has dismissed talk that he is among 18 assemblymen who are planning to cross over to parties in the opposition Perikatan Nasional.

He described the supposed defections as a “dirty spin” by the Opposition.

“There is no way assemblymen from the state government will allow the Opposition to take away the people’s mandate,” said Chong, who is the Tanjong Kapor assemblyman.

Over the past week, the political chatter was about assemblymen linked to the Warisan-led state government moving to the Opposition.

Chong also brushed aside claims by Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin that the state government would fall due to defections.

“It is just empty talk. Where are the facts?” Chong asked.

He accused Bung Moktar of trying to dwell on Sabah’s “political frog culture” to incite the situation.

Chong said he was fully behind Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal’s leadership.

Thus, he said there was no reason for him or any of the other assemblymen to switch allegiance.

He said Warisan and its partners DAP, PKR and Upko held 48 seats (including five nominated assemblymen) in the 65-member assembly while the combined opposition of Sabah Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Sabah STAR and Sabah Umno had 17 seats.

Unlike other states in the peninsula that fell due to a slim majority by the incumbent, he said Warisan had a comfortable two-thirds majority in the state assembly.

Chong said the Opposition should focus its attention on battling the Covid-19 pandemic instead.

Furthermore, he said Sabah Umno should worry more about its slim majority at the federal level.